Luca Marini is confident Honda “has the power to stay on top for many years”, though he accepts that his debut campaign with the storied brand will be “tough.”
Marini announced he would leave half-brother Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team to join Honda shortly after last year’s curtain-closing Valencia Grand Prix, the Italian taking the place of six-time premier class champion Marc Marquez who elected to make a shock swap to Gresini Ducati.
The two-time MotoGP podium finisher was keen to secure a factory seat so that he could have more of an influence in the development of a machine, the VR46 operation sitting below Ducati’s factory squad as well as Pramac Racing in the manufacturers pecking order.
Speaking in an interview conducted by Honda, his first official one since joining the brand, Marini conceded that while his first year with the marque, which begins in Qatar in March, will be “tough”, he believes that the operation can regain its past form and return to the forefront of the field once more “very soon.”
“It was a shock after Marc (Marquez) announced his change (to Gresini Ducati), so me and my group with my manager tried to find a way to approach this new project so that we could build together and improve the bike,” said Marini.
“The goal is to together achieve a better performance so the team can come back and win races and world titles, it will be a satisfying moment when we get it.
“This is the best team in the history of MotoGP, the numbers and statistics speak for themselves. They’re currently in a tough moment, but I think we have the power to come back very soon and I will try to give all my energy to this project and show that if we can find the right direction, we can stay on top for many years.”
Marini insisted he is keeping an “open mind” for 2024 knowing Honda is still not in the place it needs to be to fight for consistent rostrums and wins, though is still targeting securing headline finishes should the opportunity arise.
“For next year I want to start with an open mind, we need to understand our speed and potential from the Valencia test and find a good balance,” added Marini.
“Being able to match my teammates is of course my first goal, but I also want to look forward and find a way to reach the podium and maybe the victory.
“I know it will be tough, but we need to be looking ahead.
“The first test was amazing and it went by very fast, but we learned a lot and it shows that we have a lot of time during the winter tests and the season to get to know everyone. It’s a dream to work with everybody at Honda, and I think we can have a really good synergy.”
